1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lever-type connector for engaging the support axes of a connector housing with the axis holes of a connector engaging lever.
2. Related Art
FIGS. 8 to 10 show a conventional lever-type connector (a lever engaging structure) disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-162209.
This lever-type connector 51 comprises a female connector housing 52 made of a synthetic resin, and a lever 53 also made of a synthetic resin and rotatably attached to a female connector housing 52. Inside the female connector housing 52 is provided a terminal (not shown) which is connected to wires 54. By rotatively moving the lever 53, the lever-type connector 51 can be engaged with the mating male connector only with small force.
In the front of both side walls of the female connector housing 52, support axes 55 in the form of T in cross section is provided for supporting the lever 53. Each support axis 55 is made up of a cylindrical pillar 56 and a pair of protrusions 57 which protrude from both sides of the cylindrical pillar 56.
The lever 53 is provided with axis holes 58 for accommodating the support axes 55, and a circular seating portion 59 is formed around the rim of each axis hole 58 which is made up of a circular portion 60 for engaging the cylindrical pillar 56 of each support axis 55, and rectangular cut portions 61 for inserting the pair of protrusions 57. Locking claws 62 for locking the female connector housing 52 are formed on the tip of the lever 53, while cam grooves for accommodating the follower protrusions of a mating male connector housing (not shown) are formed in the outer half of the lever 53.
As shown in FIG. 8, the support axes 55 are inserted into the axis holes 58, with the lever 53 being pressed forward to adjust the positions of the protrusions 57 of the support axis 55 to the positions of the cut portions 61 of the axis holes 58. The protrusions 57 are rotatively shifted from the cut portions 61 by raising the lever 53 up, as indicated by the broken lines in FIG. 10. Thus, the lever 53 can be prevented from coming off the female connector housing 52. In this position, the lever 53 temporarily engages the mating male connector. By further rotatively moving the lever 53 backward as indicated by the arrow C, the follower protrusions of the mating male connector are moved backward by virtue of the cam grooves of the lever 53. The mating male connector, together with the follower protrusions, is then pulled into the female connector 51, where they are engaged with each other.
With the above conventional structure, however, there is a problem that the axis holes 58 and the seating portions 59, i.e., the bearing portions, are liable to deteriorate in strength, because of the cut portions 61 formed in the axis holes 58 of the lever 53. There is another problem that it is expensive to produce the metal mold for the lever, because the shape of the metal mold becomes inevitably complicated due to the existence of the cut portions 61. There is yet another problem that when engaging the support axes 55 with the axis holes 58, it is necessary to adjust the positions of the protrusions 57 to the cut portions 61, making the production procedure even more complicated.
Meanwhile, FIGS. 11A to 11C show the structures of the support axes and the axis holes of a lever-type connector disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-167448.
As shown in FIG. 11A, a support axis 66 has a pair of slip-off prevention peripheral members 68 on the tip of a cylindrical pillar 67. A V-shaped splitting groove 69 is formed between the pair of slip-off prevention peripheral members 68. An axis hole 70 includes a circular penetrating portion 71 for accommodating the cylindrical pillar 67 and a circular seating portion 72 for accommodating the pair of slip-off prevention peripheral members 68.
When inserting the support axis 66 into the axis hole 70, the pair of slip-off prevention periphery members 68 bend inward and pass through the penetrating portion 71, as shown in FIG. 11B. After the penetration, the pair of slip-off prevention periphery members 68 expand outward (i.e., return to the original state) to be engaged with the seating portion 72, as shown in FIG. 11C. Thus, the lever 73 can be attached to a connector housing (not shown).
With the above structure, however, the support axis 66 tends to deteriorate in strength because of the splitting groove 69 formed on it. The support axis 66 is liable to slip off the axis hole 70, because the pair of slip-off prevention periphery members 68 will bend inward if a large force is applied to them.